LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of LifeStance Health Group in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on LifeStance Health Group from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded LifeStance Health Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.83.

LifeStance Health Group Stock Performance

Shares of LifeStance Health Group stock opened at $6.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 316.66 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.10 and a 200 day moving average of $6.30. LifeStance Health Group has a 12 month low of $3.74 and a 12 month high of $8.09.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $382.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $378.51 million. LifeStance Health Group had a return on equity of 0.65% and a net margin of 0.68%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.01) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LifeStance Health Group will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

LifeStance Health Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 25th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ann Varanakis sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.90, for a total transaction of $345,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 315,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,177,709. This trade represents a 13.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Bessler sold 119,942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.04, for a total value of $844,391.68. Following the sale, the director owned 1,318,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,285,640.32. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 4,505,395 shares of company stock valued at $31,580,780 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LifeStance Health Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Park Edge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 11,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 125,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 1,966 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 21,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 2,447 shares during the last quarter. Xponance LLC raised its stake in LifeStance Health Group by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 13,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 2,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake in LifeStance Health Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 89,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 3,298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.50% of the company’s stock.

About LifeStance Health Group

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) is a leading provider of outpatient mental health services in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, the company operates a growing network of clinics that deliver integrated, patient-centered psychological and psychiatric care. LifeStance’s mission is to expand access to high-quality mental health treatment by combining evidence-based therapy modalities with personalized treatment plans.

The company’s service offerings include individual, family, and group psychotherapy, psychiatric medication management, psychological assessment, and telehealth services.